Laura Sharman reports:
There are nearly 20,000 council officials who have the power to enter private homes or offices, according to research from Big Brother Watch.
The report from the privacy campaign group, claims that despite government pledges to reduce the number of Powers of Entry, 19,735 council officials still retain this power.
The figures for 2009-12, reveal that an average of 45 officials have powers of entry in all local authorities, with Northumberland and Leeds having more than 500 officials with these powers.
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